Haywood county man is in custody and being charged with the murder of his ex-wife

JACKSON, TENN (WNBJ)-

“We have received information that the body recovered on the Hillview Loop area over the weekend is that of Brittany Watson. Been identified positively through fingerprints,” said Haywood County Sheriff Billy Garrett.

34-year-old Brittney Watson went missing on January 7th.

Her ex-husband, Kevin Watson reported her missing a few days later, on Friday the 13th.

“Then on Sunday, you know, we got that tip from one of his friends that Kevin had come to him and said that he had made a horrible mistake and he did something he shouldn't have done, etc., etc., and that that he probably was going to live on the land or commit suicide," Sheriff Garrett said.

Kevin Watson was soon also reported missing- but his truck was found with a suicide note inside.

“It was set up to look like a suicide at that point. And that's what we thought. And we didn't have any other reason to believe, but just to make sure we decided to go ahead and get the first-degree murder warrant just in case that that was the case," Garrett said.

After several days of searching for Kevin and Brittney, the sheriff’s department and the U.S. Marshalls started to believe that Kevin Watson might be on the run.

“He turned himself in. He went to a friend's home and then he was there hiding in a shed. But he found him there… and he wanted to turn [himself] in. He wanted to go to the CWA officer who works in this area, who lived nearby. All of this is in Tipton County.

The Sheriff added that Kevin was suffering from frostbite on his feet and may have walked all the to Tipton County.

About the same time that Kevin surrendered investigators found the body of Brittney Watson on the couple's property in Haywood County.

Investigators have not released any information on how she died.

Kevin and Brittney had two children together, an 8 year-old and a 10-year-old. They had been staying with other family members.

Garrett said, "All of those people were victims. This whole family's victims. These children are victims. You know, they didn't know that this, they didn't expect this and they certainly wouldn't want this to happen. So they're hurting. And we need to understand that”

The investigation may be far from over, “If we do determine there was an accomplice of some sort, he or she would be facing charges as well," Garrett said.

A hearing on the first-degree murder charges against Kevin Watson is scheduled for the 31st of this month at the Haywood County Courts.